Sick day
by The Infamous Fly
Summary: Wendy comes into work horribly sick, so Dipper takes it upon himself to make sure that she gets well rested.


**_Sorry this took so long to redo. _**

Dipper awoke at 6:30 AM, as always. He heaved himself out of bed, showered, dressed, and kissed his sleeping sister on the forehead, before opening the triangular window and climbing out onto the roof. With journal in hand, he stared at the fog which filled the valley, and breathed in the cool air.

A smile crossed his face as the sun began to rise, and he stuffed the reading light which he had been using into his pocket. Birds cawed in the distance, and occasionally a car would cross, but otherwise he had complete calm. He began the long and tedious job of decoding information which wasn't really all that useful. It was as tedious as his sister frequently teased him about, but it was better for him to finish it now than later.

Not to mention, he always got to wave at Wendy when she bicycled into work. She would always have a smile for him, no matter if it was pouring or boiling hot. This small but meaningful interaction made it a little more bearable, and made him feel less like the crazy kid up on the roof who doesn't know how to sleep in or have fun for that matter. So he was distressed when the redhead did not show up during the first ten minutes of seven-thirty. He knew that Wendy was a tad lazy, but she always came to work at the same time. Stan would fire her if she has too late, and her father always prodded her with "work ethic."

After about fifteen minutes of waiting for her to show up, Dipper considered calling the Corduroy residence just to make sure that everything was okay. Just as he stood up to go inside, he noticed a tall form meandering down the hill. Coughing went unchallenged due to the earliness of the hour, and echoed through the area.

Then the fog parted, and Dipper stare down at Wendy in surprise. She looked quite small from up here, but he could tell from the way she moved and the horrible sounds of her dry coughs, that she was not feeling well.

Dipper re-opened the bedroom window, and slipped inside. The investigator put his the journal beside his bed, and snuck down the stairs. Reaching the kitchen, he followed the sounds of more hacking coughs to find Wendy sitting behind the register. Her face was pale and sweaty, and her hair lay in a tangled mess. She forced a smile the moment he entered the room, and her voice came out low and scratchy.

"Hey Dippingsauce…what are you doing up this ear-er-ah-AHCHOO!" She sneezed into the sleeve of her jacket, and glared at the ooze which stained it. "Great…just fantastic…" Dipper approached slowly, "Wendy…why don't you just take the day off, your obviously sick." The ginger smiled at his concern, but waved it aside. "No can do little buddy. Stan doesn't stand for no…slacks I think he calls them…"  
Dipper raised a brow, "Slackers?" She nodded, "Right, "slackers." He'll fire me if I take the day off…" Dipper was about to disagree, when she continued, "Besides, my dad says it's just cough, and he'll get angry with me if I make excuses." Dipper exhaled, "A cough? Wendy you look more dead than alive!" She glowered down at him, and he giggled nervously. "Thanks a lot Dipper." Putting his hands on the counter, Dipper swallowed. "What I mean is…you need lots of rest."

Wendy waved it aside again, this time slumping forward and nearly falling asleep. "Wendy c'mon you look exhausted…" She looked up from the counter and reached out with single finger. "You know dips…" She giggled sleepily and touched his nose, "You've got really nice eyes…" Dipper blushed slightly, but did not move as she raised her hand and touched some of his hair. "And your hair…it's so sof-sa-ah-AHACHOO!" This time she was unable to shield her companion, and Dipper got snot all over his shirt. "That's it, I am getting you some tissues!" He sprinted off to the bathroom, removing his shirt, washing his face, before grabbing some toilet paper. He was halfway downstairs when he realized that he had forgotten to put a new shirt on.

Running back up, the tween discovered that due to his aversion to doing the laundry, he didn't have any clean shirts. Sighing, he removed his blanket, and put on his bathrobe, not wanting Wendy to see him without a shirt on.

Redescending the stairs, he heard snoring and entered the front to find that Wendy had fallen asleep in his absence. As he got closer, he found the scene more and more endearing. No Wendy didn't look her best, but with the sunny streaming in through the window and highlighting her red locks, she looked beautiful. And with the gentle rise and fall of her chest, and that cute little snore, she seemed at peace. Dipper considered not awakening her as a result, but knew that she would get a crick in the neck if he didn't.

Not to mention that Stan would wake her up and force her to go back to work. She deserved to sleep in a real bed, not on a splintery counter because her father demanded too much of her. Growing a reserved face, Dipper forced himself to move over to her, and lightly shake her shoulder. "Wendy…wake up…"

"Huh? What? Where?" She looked back and forth across the room, and then her eyes rested on him. "Oh hey Dipper. How did you get past the cheese monsters…" Dipper rolled his eyes, and placed the covers over her shoulders. "C'mon, you can sleep in the guest room," He tried to pull her to her feet, but she resisted. "I AHCHOO-Appreciate the gesture Dipper…but," Dipper shook his head, pulling the cashier girl to her feet and tugging her towards the back hall. "No buts Wendy, you need sleep and I am _not _resting until you get it. I will do your job for today if it means you get some rest."

She peered at him for along moment, before giving in and stumbling along as he led her to the guest room. Opening the door gently, he let go of her hand, and like a small child she staggered forward and gripped his shirt for guidance. Dipper's face turned red, but he tried to focus on finding the cushion beneath the sofa. Once he had, he laid it down and removed the blanket from Wendy's shoulders, having her lie down before he spread it over her.

She snuggled into place and looked up at him with heart melting eyes. "Thanks Dipper."

Then he fell into slumber and Dipper was filled with an incredibly warm feeling. As he turned away from her, a camera went off. Blinking rapidly, he watched as his sister, still wearing her pajamas, removed a photo of her camera and giggled. "Dipper's got a girlfriend, Dipper's got a girlfriend…"

"Mabel-!"

Wendy muttered something, and Dipper turned his voice to a whisper, "Stop giggling! You're going to wake her up…" He glanced back at her as Mabel stifled her squealing, "I can't help it, you two looked so cute!" Dipper rolled his eyes and moved Mabel out of the way as he eased the door close. "Oh stop it, I am doing this because we are friends." Mabel smirked, "Riiiiight. Cause friend's always gaze into each other's eyes, whilst one of them, usually the female but I won't judge, isn't wearing a shirt."

Dipper stopped himself halfway through explaining the situation, before pinching the bridge of his nose. "You aren't going to let up, are you?" Mabel shook her head with a mischievous grin, and Dipper stomped past her, intent of reaching the register by the time that people finally showed up.

Mabel continued to mock him, and he felt like he was coming down with something,, but it had all been worth it, just for the look on Wendy's face.

He had made her happy, and that was all that mattered.


End file.
